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Tuesday, 4 December 2012

in just three weeks...

... it will be Christmas day! By that time, my family should have arrived from various points around the southern hemisphere, our own version of planes, trains and automobiles. It will be the first time in ages that so many of us have been in one place and I just can't wait. We've actually been lucky this year and had a couple of visits from those that live furthest away, but we haven't seen everybody!

About four years ago, I discovered the children's book 'The Relatives Came', written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. It describes 'the summer of the year when the relatives came' and I honestly can't read it without crying. It reminds me so much of my family spread all over the place and the joy which we take from their visits.

Here are a few snippets to set you off too!

'Then it was hugging time. Talk about hugging! Those relatives just passed us all around their car... they hugged us for hours... You'd have to go through at least four different hugs to get from the kitchen to the front room. Those relatives!'

'We were so busy hugging and eating and breathing together.'

'And when they were finally home in Virginia, they crawled into their silent, soft beds and dreamed about the next summer.'